


On the Run

by Meaganhaha



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Inhumans (Marvel), Injury Recovery, Team Up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-07-04 05:37:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15834828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaganhaha/pseuds/Meaganhaha
Summary: An injured Daisy returns to the cabin in need of a safehouse off the grid. Apparently this safehouse is not empty however, leading to a tense meeting with a few Avengers who also did not want to be found.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
The sky looked nasty, dark and threatening rain. She had made it to the cabin just in time it seemed, though the trip had taken longer than anticipated. She had only ever been here once and even then wasn’t privy to the directions. The location wasn’t hard to find once she knew what she was looking for; it was just her condition that made the trip hard. If she didn’t get somewhere to rest and recover soon she was going to pass out, probably even bleed out if the amount of pain she was in was any indication of the severity of her injuries.  
She was able to hack the perimeter security system with no problems, noting that the security codes had been changed so someone was keeping an eye on the place. This was a passing thought as her attention was completely focused on making it to the cabin, not what she might find when she got there. The thought of pulling her weapon and sweeping the area didn’t even occur to her as she stumbled out of the borrowed SUV, not grabbing her bag or any belongings before slowly making her way to the door. She leaned against the wall to hack the security pad at the door, fumbling with the code before the door finally unlocked with a low beep and a click. She stepped into the dark cabin, pushing the door wide.  
Light flooded the space the moment she fully crossed the threshold. She stepped to her right instinctively, attempting to reach for her gun at the small of her back. This caused a flinch and muffled grunt of pain as she had stupidly reached for it with her broken arm. She swung the useless limb back up and cradled it to her chest as her vision adjusted to the light.  
At first all she registered were the four guns trained on her. She raised her other arm in an effort to show she was unarmed, conveniently putting it at the perfect angle to quake somebody if necessary. She was never really unarmed. She hesitated to use her powers however, knowing it would only hurt her more in this condition.  
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” A voice demanded, drawing her eyes to the large man to her left. Looking beyond his gun she finally registered who she was looking at. Freaking Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. Her eyes darted to the others. Natasha Romanov to his left, and beyond her a black man she didn’t know. On his right was another familiar face, a white man with a metal arm but a name didn’t come to mind for him either.  
She realized she still hadn’t answered at this point, just staring at them trying to get her mind to catch up. That’s when she realized she was really in trouble, nothing was making sense and she began to sway on her shaky legs. She was about to pass out, putting her in a very vulnerable position in this group of assassins and soldiers. She pressed her back against the door trying to gain some stability.  
Impatient with her silence, Steve Rogers stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Apparently she wasn’t very intimidating she thought vaguely. “Safe house” she blurted dumbly before he could reach her. He stopped, his gun still trained on her chest. “I… didn’t know anyone else was here.” She continued lamely, her voice weaker and more hesitant than she wanted it to be.  
Rogers glanced back to Natasha Romanov who spoke up next “How do you even know about this place?”  
That was an easy question. “I’ve been here before.” Daisy answered. She brought her right arm up to grip her left where it was still cradled against her chest. She glanced out the still open door, gauging the distance to her car. Her ability to quake these guys and get away was a stupid idea now, she would never make it.  
“Don’t move!” The black man on the right shouted at her, rightly guessing the direction of her thoughts. She didn’t say anything, just pressed her lips together and giving him a tiny nod before focusing her eyes back on Rogers.  
He met her eyes for a long moment before slowly lowering his gun. He stepped toward her, reaching his arm out. Daisy jerked to avoid it, falling another step to her right. He didn’t touch her though, reaching past her and grabbing the door she had just cleared and closing it, trapping her inside. She kept her eyes trained on him as he stepped back from her. “Stay there.” Was all he said before turning back, probably to confer with his buddies as to what to do with her.  
“Okay” she whispered to herself, leaning against the wall and finally giving in to her shaking legs. She slid down the wall in what she hoped looked like a controlled movement and not a collapse, unknowingly leaving a large trail of blood the whole way down.  
“Hey, you hurt?” The black man asked her, the first to notice the blood trail. Rogers turned back around, assessing her with new eyes and not just as a threat.  
For some reason this was a little funny to her and her lips quirked up, not able to make a full smile. Hurt? Yes. Probably dying. But she rounded up her injuries and just responded simply “shot.” This seemed to settle something for Rogers, his expression much softer the next he looked at her. He came toward her again, only pausing when Romanov made a noise behind him.  
He turned back towards his friends again as someone said “look at her, how much of a threat can she be?” Daisy realized she didn’t know who was speaking because her eyes had unintentionally closed for a long moment. This comment was funny to her too and she gave a bigger smile and a huff of laughter, only realizing too late how inappropriate that response would be in this situation. Another long blink opened her eyes to see Rogers crouched in front of her.  
“Are you armed?” he asked, cutting straight to the point. She met his eyes and nodded. Not willing to repeat the painful motion of reaching for her gun again she leaned a bit to the side, giving him permission to reach back and take the gun tucked in her pants. “Any more?” he asked once he stowed her gun in the same place she had but safely in his own jeans. She tried to kick her right boot out from where it was tucked by her side on top of the left one, but didn’t have enough energy and wound up just jerking it enough to draw his attention. He reached down into her boot drawing out the large knife she kept there and passing it back to someone.  
She did her best to stay focused but each time she blinked it was harder to open her eyes. “What’s your name?” he asked her, as her eyes closed again.  
Not able to fight the pull of unconsciousness any more she just managed to whisper “Daisy” before finally passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Daisy came to on the lone bed in the cabin. She recognized the quilts and blankets from her last stay, though she never had the chance to sleep in the bed last time. Pain was the first thing she was truly aware of. There was the sharp throbbing in her shoulder from the gunshot wound and the ache from the fractures and breaks in both of her arms. Not to mention the other aches and pains from numerous other injuries on her body.  
The next thing she noticed was the man in the chair in the corner of the small bedroom watching her. He didn’t say anything, just let her wake up and take stock of her situation. It wasn’t exactly a hostile look, just attentive. “Uh, hi” Daisy said as she started to sit up before a sharp pain made her gasp and lie back again. She lay still for a moment, catching her breath before carefully trying again. The man made no move to try to help her. He was so familiar, though she knew she had never met him before. The second time was a success and she was able to look around better from this angle. She could tell from the bedroom window that it was still dark out, so she hadn’t been here for too long yet.  
Movement at the door caught her attention as Rogers appeared, leaning against the doorway. Romanov and the third man came up behind him. “Welcome back” Rogers said with a small smile. “We were able to patch up that wound, but whoever removed the bullet did a nasty job.” Daisy grimaced looking away, remembering the pain of digging the bullet out herself. “We did the best we could for your arms but there’s definitely some broken bones in there, you’re going to need something better than a brace soon.” She looked down, noticing for the first time the thick wrapping on both of her arms. Her jacket had been removed leaving her in only her black tank top. She was relieved to see that nothing else had been touched except for the removal of her boots; though that wasn’t really something she had worried about with this group. She doubted Captain America would allow that kind of treatment of hostages, or whatever she was here.  
He seemed to be waiting for some kind of response so she smiled and glanced away, casually saying “Coulson would be so jealous, Captain America taking care of me.” She looked back at him meeting his eyes, hoping the name-drop of a mutual friend would help gain her a little trust, and maybe less animosity from the assassin that was standing behind him staring at her silently.  
The name worked to startle him, and he glanced at Romanov before looking back at her. “You knew Agent Coulson?” She nodded, choosing not to mention that she knew him AFTER the avengers had. They probably still didn’t know about his whole coming back from the dead thing. “So you were a shield agent then?” he asked her the obvious follow up question. She hesitated before nodding again, choosing not to correct his time-line misunderstanding for the second time. “Hydra?” He asked with raised eyebrows, and she detected the faint tensing of his muscles in his folded arms.  
She frowned and huffed before saying firmly “hell no.” but not elaborating on any of his questions.  
Rogers nodded but didn’t look away from her eyes for a long moment. “So who did this to you, Daisy?” She looked away from him, wondering how she would even attempt to explain. After running through a few possible answers in her head and dismissing them all she decided not to answer him at all. As much as she hated to do so maybe it was best that she be seen as a victim and not a threat right now.  
“How long was I out?” she asked instead.  
It was the black man behind Rogers who answered her “Just a few hours, you were in pretty bad shape.” He seemed nice but had made no moves to introduce himself yet so she would hold off on any opinion of him. She merely nodded at him as thanks for answering her.  
“Hold on, lets finish learning who you are,” Natasha Romanov broke in, apparently worried this interrogation was becoming a little too friendly. “This is a secure location that no one is supposed to know about. So how did you find it? Do you have a last name, Daisy? Because I have never heard of you before, and I was in Shield too.”  
Daisy couldn’t lie that she was a little intimidated. She was sitting here with the Avengers, and not exactly in a position of power. Under better circumstances she would be freaking out right now, but she felt too shitty to feel excited. The idea of teaming up with them used to be a fantasy of hers. A top Shield Agent moonlighting as an Avenger, how badass. Now the thought of joining another team filled her with a sense of dread. She didn’t want that anymore, and she certainly wasn’t ready to give up all her secrets yet. Or, any of them. “I’ve been here before.” She told them again slowly. “And it’s Johnson.” Romanov turned away and went to the desk on the other side of the main room. Probably to try and look Daisy up or check her sources now that she had a full name. She can try Daisy thought, feeling a little smug at her skills. She had completely wiped herself from every system, a few times, and was confident Romanov would find nothing.  
It was then that Daisy noticed her colorful duffel bag sitting on the table behind Rogers. Her bag was open, and it looked like all of its contents were spread out across the tabletop. “Hey! Hands off my bag!” she cried, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and standing up quickly. Too quickly, her vision tunneled and she swayed on the spot. A large hand gripped her bicep, catching her and holding her up as she started to sag. When her vision cleared from darkness to just light bursts she realized it was the silent man from the corner of her room holding her up. “Ouch” she said quietly, instead of ‘thank you’. His lips quirked at her rudeness and he released her.  
She moved towards the doorway intending to recover and repack her belongings but Rogers stepped into her way, blocking the door. “Your stuff is all there, we just wanted to see who we were dealing with since you fainted and weren’t able to tell us.” Daisy wrinkled her nose at the word ‘fainted’, as though she were some stupid damsel who got a little overwhelmed, not a warrior who was bleeding out.  
“We found some pretty weird stuff.” The black man chimed in, holding up her gauntlets for her to see, as though she wouldn’t know what they would find in her bag. He held up a few bundles of cash next, and then one of her shirts that had been soaked in some guy’s blood during a fight. She really should have thrown the shirt away, but it had been new when she stained it and it was such a flattering fit that she was holding out hope that she could save it. Now it just looked garish and creepy that she kept blood stained clothing in her bag. “Couldn’t crack into your computer, either. Some pretty advanced security measures on there. Not to mention all the weapons-“  
“Okay yeah I know what I have, thanks for the full inventory.” Daisy interrupted, frustrated that they had gone through everything. Literally, everything. She could see her underwear laid out on the table with everything else, not to mention her pills, journal and fake IDs.  
The man was following her eyes and noticed what she was looking at. He picked up the small stack of passports and driver’s licenses and held them up. “None of these say Daisy…”  
“That’s because they’re fake.” Daisy snapped back. He smiled a little at that and put them back down, obviously knowing that already. “Well thanks for grubbing through all my stuff but you still haven’t told me who you are yet.” Daisy said, completely fed up with this one-sided interrogation. She didn’t like being treated like a criminal when they were obviously on the run too. She followed the news; she knew Rogers and his friends were considered war criminals right now.  
Rogers straightened at that, uncrossing his arms and opened his mouth as if to speak and introduce himself. It was probably some huge faux pas from back in the 40s not to have given proper introductions to a lady yet. “I know who you are.” Daisy cut him off quietly, not looking at him. She hated the way this meeting was going. Coulson had influenced her enough with his Captain America obsession that she was a huge fan and didn’t like that they had gotten off on the wrong foot. She was also a badass however and wasn’t going to let herself be intimidated by anybody.  
“I’m Sam. That’s Natasha and in there is Bucky.” The man answered her with a smile, apparently not offended at all.  
Daisy whirled around “Bucky Barnes!” she practically shouted at him. He merely raised an eyebrow and nodded at her. Daisy laughed, the satisfaction of solving the puzzle of why this guy was familiar mixing with the fangirl inside of her making her giddy for a moment. “Wow!” she said, still smiling “Howling commandos! And you’re…not dead!” He gave her a tight lipped smile at her stupid comment. “You’re just creeping in the corner of my room, watching me sleep.” She turned away as she said this last, her voice trailing off as the gravity of the situation hit her again. Rogers seemed to find this funny and grinned at Bucky over her head. Bucky was frowning, apparently not appreciating being called creepy when he so clearly thought he was ‘standing guard’.  
At this point Daisy realized Natasha was on the phone with someone and frowned, not liking that she was making contact with the outside world on what might not be a secure line. She was speaking quietly, glancing at Daisy throughout the conversation. Apparently she didn’t care if Daisy knew she was talking about her. There wasn’t much she could do; Steve was still blocking the doorway. After another few moments she murmured “Thanks Maria, yup I’ll let you know.” And hung up the phone, making her way back over to the group. “So.” Natasha said when she reached them again. “I sent your picture out to a friend who confirmed who you are. Though she said your name was Skye…” She let that hang there, waiting for Daisy to fill in the blank.  
“Yeah, I changed it a while ago.” Daisy said, used to this conversation by now. It had taken forever to make the change, and everybody always thought it was a little weird when they didn’t know the full reasoning behind it. Coulson still had problems with it. Though Daisy could admit it was a little endearing that he still wanted to see her as Skye.  
“Yeah?” Natasha asked, “Did you also change it to Quake?”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Daisy didn’t answer her for a moment. There wasn’t really any need to, she already knew Daisy’s alter ego and that she had powers. They were all quiet though and looking at her, waiting for her to confirm it. “It’s not the name I would have chosen for myself but it’s growing on me.” She said.   
“You’re enhanced?” Steve said, apparently needing further clarification. Maybe he wasn’t as up to date on the news, being a war criminal in hiding and all.   
“I’m inhuman.” Daisy said “So, yes sort of.” Jemma Simmons had clarified the difference for her once. An enhanced person was someone who gained their abilities through man-made means. Like Steve Rogers, Mike Peterson or Wanda Maximoff. An Inhuman was someone born with special abilities, just needing the terrigen to unlock them. He seemed much more wary of her now. Not such a damsel anymore Daisy thought with some satisfaction.   
Romanov seemed satisfied with the answers she’d gotten however and didn’t question Daisy any further. Apparently now that someone had vouched for her and filled in all the important blanks she wasn’t going to pry anymore. Professional courtesy from one spy to another, apparently. Daisy was glad she didn’t seem hostile anymore. She knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against The Black Widow right now. Though maybe once I’ve healed I can see if she’s worse than May she thought with some morbid fascination but I kind of doubt it.  
“Well, cool. You’ll have to tell us all about that. This mean we’re all good?” Sam asked, apparently having made up his own mind as well and turning to the others in the group.   
Rogers looked at Daisy and nodded, offering her a small smile. “Are you hungry?” he asked. She couldn’t help but glance to him at this, eyes wide. Yes, she was starving.   
She didn’t want to seem that desperate though so she just shrugged. “Sure.” She said, inching past him through the door as he stepped to the side for her. He didn’t move far enough out of the way though and her shoulder brushed against him as she passed. Oh my god I just touched Captain America! She suppressed the fangirl squeal and kept that internal, focusing on the fact that it was her broken arm she nudged him with and that freaking hurt. He was a big guy, he probably could have moved further out of the way if he truly wanted to be polite. Maybe he was still trying to intimidate her a little bit. That didn’t seem like his style though.   
She went straight for the table with her stuff strewn across it and started to shove it all back into the bag. “Here,” Sam said, moving to help her.   
“No, I got it.” She said cutting him off, grabbing the stuff he was reaching for before he could. She would rather not have anyone touching her stuff more than they already had. It was a little awkward trying to do it with one hand but she managed it quickly enough.   
He did grab the pills before she could pack them away though, reading the label. Rereading the label, she was sure. They definitely looked when they had searched her stuff the first time. “I’m not familiar with this name,” he said, handing them to her as though he was being helpful. “they some kind of pain pill?”  
“Rapid bone growth.” She answered quietly, hesitating before she shoved them into her bag. She should probably take one now. She attempted to twist off the cap but it was difficult to grip with her broken arm.   
“Here I got that for you.” Sam said kindly, taking the bottle from her and twisting the cap off. He handed cap and bottle to her, not trying to go too far and feed her a pill or something, which she appreciated.   
“Thanks” she mumbled, shaking out a pill and swallowing it dry. She noticed too late that Rogers was about to offer her a glass of water, apparently having been observing their conversation. She offered him a small smile in thanks and took the water from him anyway, not wanting to seem rude when he was being nice. She realized she was pretty parched anyway and drained the glass in one go.   
“Do you want something for the pain?” Sam asked her. “Broken bones, bruises and bullet wounds can’t feel great. I think we got some aspirin or something in here…” he moved away to the bathroom before she could answer. She did want something for the pain, but still didn’t feel entirely safe here and didn’t want to take anything too strong that might dull her senses. She didn’t know a great way to say that though so just stayed silent until he came back. “Hey what do you know, they’ve got the good stuff!” Sam said as he came out of the bathroom, holding up a bottle of Tylenol in one hand and what she recognized as a morphine patch in the other. He held the morphine patch out to her, assuming she would want as much relief as possible but she just shook her head and reached for the Tylenol. Sam pressed his lips together but didn’t comment, instead repeating his earlier courtesy and popping the bottle open for her. She felt her water glass get tugged out of her hand and watched as Steve refilled it. She took the Tylenol from Sam and shook a few out into her palm before handing the bottle back to be recapped. Steve met her eyes as he handed her the water and Daisy got the feeling he knew why she didn’t take the morphine instead. No one said anything though and she moved to the couch to sit and wait for food to be ready.   
Natasha sat in the chair across from her while they watched Sam and Steve pull plates and fixings out to make cold sandwiches. Daisy realized it was probably pretty late, and vaguely wondered at the sleeping situation here. Daisy wolfed down the large sandwich they made her, but didn’t ask for seconds when no one else did.   
They each rose as they finished eating and began what looked like preparations for bed. The back couch cushions came off and were laid down on the floor as a makeshift bed for someone, and Sam dropped into the armchair, pushing it back until it was fully reclined. “Daisy, you take the bed again.” Steve said to her as everyone else claimed spots seeming without needing to discuss it. “You were just shot I think that will be the most comfortable.”  
“Hey I was shot not too long ago, where’s my special treatment?” Natasha said idly, even as she closed her eyes from her position reclined on the couch.   
“You weren’t shot that recently, and you look pretty comfortable from here.” Steve said firmly, apparently used to this from her. A small smile softened his words though so that it was clear he was joking.   
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Bucky said from his spot on the couch cushions on the floor. Daisy glanced down as she walked by. The first time she had heard him speak was to apologize for shooting someone in the room. Nice.   
She quickly used the bathroom and then paused on her way into the bedroom, feeling awkward. “Uh, goodnight.” She said to room. A jumbled chorus of answers followed her as she went into the bedroom shutting the door behind her. She was grateful to find there was a lock on the handle and she quietly clicked it before easing herself down onto the bed. She was so tired and the bed felt so good that she didn’t even have the energy to click off the light before falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
When Daisy finally awoke the next day, her room was painfully bright. The sun had clearly been up for a while, but she had no idea what time it was. There was no clock, and she had completely forgotten to grab her phone or laptop before going to bed last night. She wished she was one of those agents who could tell time by the position of the sun. Maybe hold up her hand for measurement and determine that it was 10:15 or whatever. But she wasn’t.  
So, she would just have to lay here and wonder, because she was not ready to get out of bed yet. She was stiff, she felt weak, and moving even the slightest amount hurt like crazy.  
Pulling the blankets up she snuggled in a little more, using the corner of one to fling over her eyes to block out the cheery midmorning light.  
BANG  
Daisy jolted upright. She would have cleared the bed entirely if she hadn’t been so ensconced in blankets. She let out a cry at the pain from her sudden movement. Hunching over on herself and breathing hard from where she had risen onto her knees on the bed, she looked up into the innocent eyes of Natasha Romanov. “Whoops.” She said sweetly. “Lunch is ready.” Then gave Daisy a little smile, blinked again innocently at her and left.  
Goddamn Russian psychopath Daisy thought seething and panting from her crouched position. Her door had been locked. Then it occurred to her that they could all probably hear her door locking last night. She probably took it as a challenge. It was the kind of entrance May would have made.  
“Was that really necessary?” Daisy heard Steve asking from the main room.  
“What? I thought she’d be hungry.” Was Natasha’s calm reply.  
A moment later Steve’s head popped around the doorway of her room. His eyes narrowed when he took her in. She knew she probably looked like a mess. Her hair wild from sleeping on it, bruises on her face and body more apparent now in her brightly lit room, and makeup days old. She tried to straighten up and mask her pain so that she wasn’t grimacing anymore. “You okay?” He asked her. She nodded back immediately. She was pissed, every part of her throbbed in pain and now she was embarrassed to have been caught in that position at all but sure, she was fine. He frowned, clearly aware that she was lying and not liking it. “Food is ready.” He said. “But maybe you’ll feel better if you have a chance to clean up first?” Yup, I look disgusting. Daisy grimaced at the confirmation to her thought, but nodded again, slowly moving to get up. “Not that you don’t look fine- “He started to say, but she cut him off with a look and a small smile.  
“A shower sounds great, I’ll just be a few minutes.” She said, inching past him out the bedroom. Once again, he didn’t move far enough out of her way, so she brushed against him as she went. She may have accidentally brushed against him a little more than was strictly necessary. That wasn’t her fault though, she was injured and couldn’t help it she lied to herself.  
She stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door before she began the struggle to get undressed. She decided to remove the bandages from her arms for the shower, they weren’t permanent, and her arms would be fine for a few minutes. They immediately ached at the loss of support.  
She finally got her tank top off when she realized she forgot her bag again. Damnit. She was just in her bra and jeans. Now she would have to put the shirt back on to go out and get it. She picked the tank top back up when there was a knock on the door.  
“Daisy?” It was Steve. She froze for a moment before pulling the tank top to her to cover her chest. It was tiny and basically just covered her bra leaving her stomach exposed, so she stepped behind the door as well before she cracked it open. “Thought you might want this.” He said, pushing her bag against the crack in the door.  
“Oh, thanks.” She said flashing him a smile before going to reach for it. She immediately realized her problem when she tried to reach for it with her broken arm. No way was that going to work. The other was clutching the tank top to her chest. She hesitated a moment before deciding what the hell, don’t make a big deal out of it and it won’t be. She held her broken arm to her chest next to the other and quickly stepped out from behind the door. In one quick motion she reached out and grabbed the bag from him, opening the door wider so that she could pull the bag through. She was grateful to see that his face was tilted politely away. Until the flash of movement caused by her tank top falling drew his eyes back to her. He got an eyeful before his head whipped back away. She jerked the bag out of his hands and kicked the door shut.  
Before it could shut completely however she caught a glimpse of Bucky standing stock still behind him, facing the bathroom door. Their eyes met as the door closed and she could have sworn she saw him start to smile. She closed her eyes for a moment in frustration. “Good job Daisy, you just flashed the Avengers.” She mumbled to herself, too quiet for anyone else to hear.  
Except the super soldier in the next room, apparently. “I didn’t see anything…” Steve said helpfully through the door. She shut her eyes again, shaking her head. Awesome. she thought, as she turned the shower on and continued the painfully slow process of cleaning up.  
By the time she finished in the shower she was weak and shaking. She had lost a lot of blood, and the strain of washing was more than she could handle now. She felt a pang of grief at the thought that back home she would have probably had Jemma to help her with this. She certainly wouldn’t have had to struggle through it on her own. It took forever to dress, and she didn’t bother with makeup or drying her hair before she left the bathroom.  
She would have gladly ignored everyone and gone back to bed if Sam hadn’t called out to her when she appeared from the bathroom. “There you are, we were worried we would need to send in a rescue party.” He said jokingly, standing up from his seat at the table. She noticed there were fresh bandages out in front of him. Figuring they were for her she made her way over to him at the table. He took in her pale face and slow, shaky steps and started to meet her halfway, as though to help her to the table. “You ok, hunny?” He asked with a frown, looking worried that she would collapse or something.  
Daisy gave him a tight-lipped nod and tried to pick up the pace so that he wouldn’t try and help her. She half collapsed into the chair he had left empty. Rude, maybe, but it was the only one already pulled out and with a clear shot to it. He didn’t comment on it though, reaching past her to pick up the bandages and a bottle of what she assumed was medicine. He waved them at her with a small smile. “We need to patch that up again.” She nodded, she knew, and was silently grateful for the help. If he hadn’t offered she wouldn’t have bothered. She could only imagine what Jemma would say if she knew Daisy wasn’t taking care of an open wound. She slowly, slowly lifted the loose T-shirt (that had taken forever to get on in the first place) off so that she was just sitting there in a tank top again.  
Sam moved behind her as Steve sat down in a chair facing her. He picked up the brace and roll of bandage they had used on her arms before. Giving her a small, shy smile, he held his hands out, silently asking for her broken left arm. She extended it out to him and he took it in gentle hands. “How are you doing?” Steve asked her, and he opened the brace and began to fit it to her arm.  
“Awesome,” Daisy said, trying not to flinch at the manipulation of her arm, or the gentle prodding from Sam behind her. “how’s your whiplash?” Steve didn’t respond for a moment, clearly confused as to what she meant. Then he flushed when he remembered how quickly he had looked away from her earlier, and why.  
For the first time in a long time Daisy felt a real smile creep across her face. Teasing this man was easy and took her mind off the pain for a moment. He gave an awkward smile and shook his head, clearly at a loss as to what to say to that.  
Instead he changed the subject. “You never did answer my question yesterday about how this happened.” He said, running his fingers lightly over the dark bruises streaking down her arm. The light touch gave her goosebumps. Sam apparently noticed judging by the light chuckle she heard behind her. “Who did this to you?” Steve asked, pressing the issue. “Anyone we need to be worried about coming here?”  
Ah, that was why he was asking. Daisy realized. That’s why he was pushing the issue. He was worried she would compromise their safe house.  
“I did.” She answered quietly. He raised his eyes to her in surprise. Apparently finished, Sam came around to stand behind Steve so that he was facing her too, crossing his arms to listen. She rushed to explain before they got the wrong idea. “When I use my powers, it doesn’t just affect whatever I’m using them on. The force goes through me too, and if I use too much or am not wearing protection then it…hurts me.” She kept her eyes focused on Steve’s hands wrapping her arm.  
“That’s what the gauntlets are for?” Sam asked her.  
She nodded. “My friends made them. They’re scientists” she clarified quickly, before it sounded too amateur. “But the gauntlets aren’t perfect. No matter what I will eventually get hurt and if I don’t take the time to heal…” she trailed off, realizing she was almost about to quote one of the numerous lectures Jemma had given her on the topic.  
“So, you need better equipment…” Steve began before he trailed off. Finished wrapping her broken arm, he had taken hold of the other. He seemed to be thinking about something though and hadn’t started wrapping it yet, just held her wrist gently in one of his big hands, the wrap in his other. Daisy began to feel uncomfortable at the contact and tried to tug her wrist out of his grasp. His hands tightened though, not letting her go.  
“It would be a good reason to get back in contact with him.” Natasha spoke up from behind Daisy. RIGHT behind Daisy, causing her to jump in surprise. This wrenched her arm painfully as Steve still held it tightly.  
“Sorry!” He said, quickly releasing her. Fortunately, it hadn’t been the broken arm. Still, that was twice today, and Daisy was starting to hate Natasha a little bit.  
Steve nodded absently, then apparently came to a decision about something. He looked at Daisy and smiled. “I think we know someone who can help you.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was too cold for such a bright cheery day. Sitting in a wooden chair outside the cabin Daisy wished she had grabbed her jacket before coming out. She had excused herself not long after Steve’s offer to help her. An offer she needed to decline, she decided.  
When he didn’t elaborate on who would help her or how, Daisy didn’t ask. She didn’t really need to. When you’re on a team with a man like Tony Stark he’s kind of the obvious choice of who you go to for that kind of thing.  
Daisy didn’t want that kind of help though. That help would mean high profile associations and revealing herself and her abilities to someone she did not trust. Tony Stark signed and supported the Sokovia Accords, which basically stripped Inhumans of their rights and something she was currently actively fighting against. To allow him to help her would mean he would need to know how to make the gauntlets, which would mean knowing the full extent of her powers. She could only assume what he would do with this information after he got it. Where he would store it, and who would have access to it. God knows she’d hacked Stark Industries easily enough in her day.  
Not to mention that going to Stark Tower or wherever put her at risk for exposure. She conveniently ignored the fact that she would be going with some of the worlds greatest spies and could probably avoid detection if they wanted.  
That was another reason not to go, it would align her with these Avengers in a way she had promised not to do again. That was the whole point of going AWOL in the first place, she couldn’t be a part of a team anymore. She didn’t want to, no matter how cool that team might be.  
Besides, her gauntlets worked well enough when she actually used them.  
Daisy sat there running through every argument against going that she could think of, solidly convincing herself not to accept help. She stubbornly refused to entertain any pros of going.  
Finally the cold got the best of her and she went back inside, ready to refuse the offer at the next possible opportunity. Inside she found Natasha doing something on the computer, Sam reading a book in the same armchair he had slept in and Steve and Bucky sitting at the coffee table playing cards. Steve and Bucky both looked up and acknowledged her with a nod when she came in but otherwise the place was quiet. That was the thing with hiding out and laying low, there was a lot of downtime.  
Feeling slightly intrusive Daisy retrieved her bag from the bathroom where she had left it earlier and brought it into the bedroom, fishing out her laptop. Irritated, she realized that the cabin didn’t have wifi. Of course it didn’t. If she wanted internet she was going to have to plug into the cabin’s secure hardline out in the main room. If she could find a cord. Otherwise she was shit out of luck and out of contact until Natasha was done or decided to share. Daisy wasn’t going to ask though, she was still kind of pissed at Natasha for playing with her earlier.  
Instead she plopped down on the bed, leaving the door open so that she could keep an eye out for when the computer opened up. She pulled out her journal and began creating a new entry. It was hard, both because her injured arm made holding the pen difficult but also because she was writing in code. It was a bitch to do and she wound up with short, undescriptive entries but was well worth it to protect her privacy. Twice in the last few weeks someone had gotten their hands on her journal, so no matter how frustrating the code was necessary.  
What seemed like hours later Natasha finally vacated the computer. Daisy waited a little longer then exited her room with her laptop. Feeling a little self-conscious, she began searching the desk and inside all the drawers for a cable. Finding none she finally gave up, sitting down to use the computer instead.  
“I made contact. Stark is willing to meet at one of his facilities tomorrow, 20:00.” Natasha spoke up from where she leaned against the back of the couch, her voice stopping Daisy’s hands just before they touched the keyboard. Her hands hovered for another moment as she absorbed this. Then she began typing, going through the familiar motions.  
“I’m kind of surprised he was willing to meet at all.” Steve said, looking up from their dozenth card game.  
“Probably not with all of us.” Said Bucky, doing the same.  
“Well, he’ll have to.” Steve looked his friend in the eye as he said this. “He knew you were with us when he agreed. Did you tell him why we wanted to meet or is he going to be expecting a fight?” He directed this to Natasha.  
Natasha nodded, looking at Daisy. “I told him. He wants to meet our new friend. I don’t think he’s ever met an inhuman before.” Daisy thought that her voice sounded a bit too light and casual as she said this, but maybe she was just paranoid now. Natasha was hard to get a read on, but Daisy was pretty sure she didn’t see her as a ‘friend’ yet.  
“He can join the club.” Sam quipped, giving Daisy a smile. “I thought y’all were just a rumor.”  
Daisy gave him a wry smile back. “Nope. True story. And you might have met Inhumans before, we don’t exactly wear signs.” She was stalling. She directed her next statement to Steve “And thanks for reaching out to your friend,” emphasizing the word because clearly, they were anything but friendly right now (though no one had said why yet). “but I can’t go with you.” There was a long pause while everyone waited for her to elaborate. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to. Honestly, she knew there were flaws in her reasoning. If she had really wanted to go none of that would be enough to deter her. But she was running away, and punishing herself, and shouldn’t get to go on road trips with superheroes to meet celebrities and get new toys.  
Steve waited another moment, but when she didn’t go on he surprised her by nodding and saying “Okay, if you’ve got somewhere else to be. If you need a ride out of here we can drop you off somewhere on our way.”  
Daisy just stared at him. He just gave her an out. Respectfully. This guy just offered her, a stranger, an amazing opportunity, and then didn’t push for why or pout when she refused. And then offered to give her a freaking ride home afterwards! No wonder Coulson was in love with him, she thought. I would have turned this guy into a super hero too.  
“Thanks.” She said to him, relieved.  
“It’s actually not okay.” Natasha said, sounding like she was trying to sound awkward. “He agreed because he was going to meet Daisy. We’re not going to be able to just show up, with him,” she nodded to Bucky “without her. He’d probably try to arrest us again.”  
“And he wouldn’t try to arrest you if I were there?” Daisy asked skeptically. “because I’m not exactly loved by law enforcement right now.”  
“Starks not law enforcement. He’s just held accountable by a lot of powerful people. If we could distract him with a beautiful, super-powered damsel in distress he might just hold off long enough to listen to what we have to say.” Sam said with a wink to her. She got the impression that he was kind of a flirt.  
Natasha smirked. “It worked for me.” She got more serious though, looking straight at Steve. “He’ll be interested enough in her and what she can do not to attack us, which is a start. Then, maybe, we can work on getting him to help us.”  
Steve stared back at her for a moment, thinking over what she said. Finally he nodded, turning back to Daisy. He looked like he regretted what he had to say but still had to try. “Please, Daisy. Come with us to meet Stark. He can help you, and it would sure help us. Afterwards we can take you wherever you need to go, or bring you back here.”  
“If you ask nice he might even plug that hole for you.” Natasha said in a sort of seductive drawl. Daisy realized that even though she didn’t really like Natasha she was oddly fascinated by her. Maybe that’s why she didn’t like her. Still, gross.  
“Your bullet wound. He has a machine…” Steve said hurriedly. He was excited by the idea but also clearly didn’t appreciate Natasha’s vulgarity and rushed to clarify it. “They used it to heal Barton a few years ago when he got shot. Couple hours later he was all better, like magic.” He sounded blown away by the technology available today.  
Well that didn’t sound too bad right now. Between all of her current injuries Daisy was in more pain now than she could ever remember having been in before. And that’s saying something. The idea that she could be healed instantly was enough to seal the deal. “Fine.” Daisy agreed. Finally admitting to herself how badly she had wanted to go all along. Steve smiled and nodded at her in thanks. Behind him Bucky didn’t look thrilled at all to be going.  
They spent the next few hours going over all the information they had about the meet, which wasn’t much. Clearly Stark wanted the advantage by setting it on his own turf and sending the rest of them in blind. Daisy was pleased to discover that even in this casual setting the mission brief was as thorough and professional as any back at Shield. Going in blind with a team she was unfamiliar with (no matter how famous they were) while injured was making her nervous in a way she hadn’t been since she was a rookie. The stakes were a lot higher now, and she didn’t have the support of Coulson or Shield to back her up if she needed it.  
When the conversation dwindled to less tactical topics Daisy moved back to her seat at the computer. She got lost in her own world of checking up on her old contacts for any new activity, her ongoing searches and began her own research into what they might expect tomorrow. The computer was surprisingly outdated for something she would expect to find in Nick Fury’s secret safe-house. The connection speed was slow and the programs she wanted to use overwhelmed the computer so that she wound up with next to nothing useful for her efforts.  
By the time Steve announced that they should all turn in and get some rest before tomorrow she was more than happy to quit. At least soon she would be able to join the real world again with some decent wifi. And hey, maybe even get to use a magic healing machine.


	6. Chapter 6

They didn't waste any time the next morning. Daisy gathered up her bag and left to sweep and clean out her car while the others took care of the cabin. Secure location or not, it was smart to make sure that no trace of their stay remained in case anyone ever came looking. It was slow going with her injuries and the others finished their task before she did, exiting the cabin and setting the security code before heading to the waiting quinjet.

Bucky made his way over to her instead, apparently intending to help her with her bags. Daisy tried to wave him off but he just ignored her, reaching out and gently easing her backpack off her shoulder and swinging it up onto his own. He reached down and picked up her duffel and black tactical bag easily in his normal, human hand before peering into the car for more. "Got everything?" He asked.

Daisy quickly met his eyes and nodded "yup!" hoping he hadnt noticed the fact that she had just been staring at his metal hand. Of course he noticed, they were standing like two feet from each other and he was looking right at her. "Busted," she said "sorry, it's just… you don't see 'em like that every day."

Bucky clenched his metal hand, no humor on his face at all. "Yeah, I'm just one of a kind." Daisy thought that he maybe meant that to be a joking, lighthearted comment but it just came off bitter and fell flat. He must have realized it too, and in an effort to relieve the tension he held the hand out, palm down for her to see. Surprising both of them she reached out and traced her fingers over the ribbed metal that was the back of his hand. He froze, but didn't pull away, allowing her to look. She had flipped his hand over and was just touching his palm when a throat cleared behind her.

She flinched towards Bucky away from the noise, snatching her hand back and turning around to face whoever was behind her. It was Steve, looking slightly uncomfortable at what he might have just intruded on. Daisy wanted to quickly assure him that it had been nothing weird, no "moment" taking place here at all, just morbid fascination at a hydra murder-hand. That would have made it weirder though so she stayed silent; waiting to hear what he came to say. "Nat says wheels up in 5." Steve said, looking at Bucky. Bucky didn't acknowledge that comment at all, he just shook his head, still staring at Steve before he stepped away from Daisy and toward the quinjet. Steve shrugged his shoulders at him as he passed as if to say 'what?' with a teasing smile before focusing back on Daisy.

He noticeably sobered before closing the distance between them so that they could speak without being overheard. "Daisy," he began, as if he were regretting what he had to say. "I know that you didn't want to come with us, and I'm still grateful that you are, but if there's any ulterior motive here for you, or anything else that I should know about you before I let you on that jet with my team I need you to tell me now. This is your chance. Because if something happens out there and my team gets hurt because I trusted you and I shouldn't have, I can promise that you will suffer any injury or end that they did." His voice had gone very soft by his last statement, his eyes focused on hers and hardly blinking at all. This intensity only added to the intimidating way he was towering over her, taller by almost a foot and much, much bigger. The adorable, polite man from the cabin was long gone, and Daisy had no problem imagining this man on a battlefield in World War 2, killing Nazis and doing any other morally compromising thing he felt necessary. And oh, she believed every word he said. He hid it well but this man clearly had a dark side, and she really, really did not want to meet it.

Steve watched her silently, having said what he needed to say. Quickly making up her mind to tell the truth Daisy frowned as she tried to figure out what she would need to tell him. "Yeah, ok." She began, swallowing before she could speak again. "There are people after me. A lot of people. They're not all… nefarious" she said, thinking of shield "but if any of them found me it could be messy. Uh you already know I was a shield agent and that I'm a freak with superpowers…" Steve frowned at that but didn't interrupt when she trailed off. She wasn't meeting his eyes by this point, instead her unfocused gaze leveled somewhere on his chest as she thought of anything else she needed to add. Finally she shook her head slowly and shrugged, looking at the ground as she said "I'm not going to try and betray you."

Steve didn't say anything for a moment as he processed what she said. She really didn't tell him anything that he didn't already know, but at least it had been said and it was obvious that she took his threat seriously. He nodded before saying "Alright then." He gave her his customary half smile that was friendly as ever but somehow didn't seem as charming as it had before. Now she would have to remember that this man could be extremely dangerous if he chose, and not let the pretty package distract her from that.

He waited a moment longer to give her the chance to question him but when she didn't he just nodded and took a step out of her personal space. Gesturing in the direction of the plane he said "ready?" She nodded before reaching back into the car, tucking the keys into the driver's side sun visor and making sure the door was unlocked before closing it. Just in case the next person who came to the cabin looking for a sanctuary needed a ride.

She followed Steve to the quinjet and buckled into the jump seat next to him. "It'll be about a 4 hour flight to the meet, but were stopping off at a town on the way for the supply run. Don't want to be too close when we do that." Bucky shouted to the team over the noise of the jet taking off. "Get Comfy."

Daisy was sore and practically limping by the time they landed for supplies. The straight-backed hard plastic jump seat combined with the rough ride of a quinjet had her injuries screaming in pain, and it was just her own stubborn pride that kept her upright and walking beside the others. They had all donned some basic disguise that would help obscure their identities but not alert anyone who might be paying attention that that was their intention.

They had decided to stop at a large sporting goods store in a Texas suburb. It was still mid-morning on a weekday so hopefully there would be enough traffic to blend into but not busy enough that they might be spotted. They broke up and entered the store in groups to accomplish the task faster and so the second group could keep an eye on the other from afar. Daisy went with Natasha and Steve to get clothes, shoes and any other gear they needed while Sam and Bucky went off to purchase ammunition. Though the store had a large selection of firearms those were too risky to try and buy. You didn't need to register to buy ammunition however so that was safe and always necessary to have too much of.

The store was busier than Daisy would have expected it to be for that time of the day. She had to step out of someone's way more than once and was beginning to feel conspicuous as she glanced away again to avoid someone seeing her face. "Alright kids, time to blend in." Natasha muttered from the other side of the rack she and Steve were standing around. "That guy is staring at you, Daisy. Steve, put your arm around her. Daisy, cuddle in and hide your face. Hopefully the guy will move on if you're taken." Steve did as she directed without hesitation, putting his arm over Daisy's shoulders and turning her towards him before tucking her into his chest. What should have been a display of affection as well as a convenient camouflage was ruined when Daisy immediately tensed up at his touch. She had to force herself not to flinch away before allowing Steve to tug her into him. This resulted in an awkward collision with his chest where she then froze, not quite able to manage the cuddle Natasha instructed. Yes her face was hidden, but now the guy was looking at both of them with a frown having noticed the odd moment. Natasha grabbed something from the rack before quickly herding Daisy and Steve away and behind another large display.

"What the hell was that?" Natasha asked her in a low voice. "Aren't you a spy? You're supposed to be a top agent in Shield not a rookie on her first field mission." She was speaking very quickly, her eyes scanning the area around them again before settling back on Daisy.

"Yeah well maybe that's why I left." Daisy snapped at her. She'd had enough of Natasha. She was also pissed because Natasha was 100% correct and had called her out for it. Daisy had been a top Shield Agent. An elite spy, a master hacker and a superhero until everything went to shit and now she was so damaged that she fumbles at a little unexpected physical contact. Shaking her head Daisy says more calmly "I'm fine, its fine forget it he just touched my wound." She lies. "Let's get what we came to get and get out of here."

Natasha shares a long look with Steve, who had been observing all of this quietly with a frown. "Just relax and keep your head down. You look like a domestic abuse victim and now you're acting like it too. We'll be lucky if that guy doesn't try and be a hero and report Steve to the cops for suspicious activity." Daisy grits her teeth, realizing Natasha was probably right. She hadn't cared enough before to try and identify the look on the man's face but that would make a whole lot of sense, especially in a place like Texas.

"Easy Nat." Steve says calmly "We only need a few more things, let's just finish up." Taking the cart he pushes past the two women, forcing them to follow him. They get what they need before making their way to the back of the store and the rest of their team.

The department for arms and ammunitions was in a large but enclosed space with one expanded entrance. This allowed security to seal off the area and secure its contents at night or during an emergency. They caught sight of Sam and Bucky just as someone says "Excuse me, miss." Loudly behind them. Reflexively all three of them turned at the voice. Three men were standing there, spread out across the doorway effectively blocking the entrance they had just come in. All three men looked rough to Daisy, their clothes worn but sturdy, good for working in. They all had solid muscle tone and the way they stood in formation suggested military (though probably former military as their uncut beards and shaggy hair weren't regulation). What caught her eye though was the knife shoved into the belt of the point man, who was still slowly walking closer to her. It was a wicked looking hunting knife that had to be at least 4 inches long and sharp. She could tell this because he wasn't wearing it in a sheath. What an idiot was her first thought. What if he tripped? That thing is going right into his leg. She felt nothing for disdain for these men after that, and any hesitancy or guilt she might have felt about what was going to happen next evaporated.

Because something was about to happen. She could see that in the way the man was still easing closer to her, his hand raised as though in greeting. No one approached strangers like that unless they had a good reason. Let's just get this over with. Daisy thought. "Yes?" she asked the lead man.

"Are you alright miss? My friend noticed that you might be in some trouble." He said with a slight frown on his face as though of concern. "Maybe you ought to come with us." His good Samaritan act was ruined by the fact that he was still edging ever closer to her.

"No," Daisy said, shifting slightly so that her good arm was angled toward him but not stepping back or away. "I'm fine, thanks."

The façade of concern dropped from the man's face, replaced by what could only be disgust. "I really think you ought to come with us." He practically snarled. "We don't want your kind around here, and we'd hate to make a mess in such a public place. Now move your ass, freak."

Yup, there it is. Daisy thought in resignation. "Let me guess," she sighed, "Watchdogs?"


	7. Chapter 7

The man grinned as though she had just given him a compliment. “That’s right. Now are you going to leave here quietly with us or are we going to have to make you?”  
“Well,” Daisy said with a grim smile of her own. “You’re welcome to try.”   
The man closed the distance between them then, clearly intending to grab her with his still outstretched arm. Apparently as beat up as she looked right now she didn’t look like much of a threat. As soon as he came close enough Daisy moved.   
Reaching out with her good arm she swept it up in an arc, grabbing the handle of his knife and pulling it loose from his belt. Arm still moving up she twisted her wrist so that the blade was pointing upward and plunged it into the armpit of the watchdog’s outstretched arm. The knife sliced right through the thick muscles, thoroughly imbedding itself. Daisy let go as the man whirled away from her with an ironically appropriate howl, leaving the knife where it was. As the man twisted away from her she noticed a pistol tucked into the top of the back of his jeans, exactly where hers had been the night she met the Avengers. Since her arm was still raised from the initial stabbing she let it fall, right onto the handle of the Watchdog’s gun. Tightening her grip, she let the momentum of the man falling to the ground pull the pistol from his pants, allowing her to remain where she was.   
Aware of how hard it would be to cock a pistol right now with her broken arm she gave an experimental squeeze of the trigger, the gun still pointed downward as it had been when she first grabbed onto it. The gun went off, shooting the watchdog right in the hip. She smiled before raising the gun and quickly shooting the last two watchdogs as well.   
All of this had taken place in moments, fast enough that neither men had moved so much as a step. Neither had Daisy, her feet still firmly planted in her initial stance and the only thing different was now she had a gun. ‘If I need a gun, I’ll take one.’ Her SO May’s favorite saying played through her head and Daisy felt a swell of pride that she had been as badass in that moment as May.   
She also became aware of the fact that no one behind her had moved at all. It was a testament to how dangerous these people were that they hadn’t felt the need to intervene, totally confident in the fact that they could act and handle the situation if it looked like Daisy needed help. She turned around to face the rest of her group. Steve and Sam were staring at her with identical wide-eyed looks, Bucky had a small grin on his face as though he were thoroughly enjoying the show and even Natasha wore a small smile.   
Finally, Steve broke the silence. “We should go.” Daisy nodded, realizing she was panting slightly. That must have taken more out of her in her state than she realized. She turned to follow Natasha and practically limped after him as the pain of her already sore injuries screamed to attention. “You gonna make it?” Steve asked her. She turned and realized he was walking very close to her, practically at her elbow. Probably to make sure she didn’t pass out during their getaway.   
She opened her mouth to answer him, hopefully with something witty and badass to match what she just did but she didn’t get the chance. Just as they passed out of the doorway separating departments something slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Her vision blacked out for a minute from the pain of the impact before fading back in, to see a man go flying over their heads and into a wildlife display of taxidermized bears at a waterfall or something. Suddenly she was hoisted to her feet and moving again, a strong arm around her waist for support. It was Steve’s, holding her up so easily that her feet probably could have skimmed along the ground if she had cared to try. He kept them moving at a smooth pace, never faltering even when another man went flying across their path with a scream into another display.   
Civilians ducked and ran screaming out of the doors ahead of them. Steve looked back once to check that the whole team was with them before following the frightened people outside. And right into a sea of camera phones and gawking faces.   
Apparently, the people weren’t smart enough to run out and away from the gunfire and screams. Or maybe they just wanted to see the avengers in action. The baseball hats and civilian clothes weren’t enough to hide their identities anymore, it was obvious who they were and everyone wanted their own perfect picture before they got away.  
Steve still had his arm wrapped tight around Daisy’s waist as they paused for a moment at the onslaught of faces. Some people were even cheering, apparently fans enough to think Captain America and his team were taking on the bad guys at their local sporting goods store. Steve quickly collected himself and pulled Daisy along, the others following as they broke through the crowd and got away.   
Back on the quinjet and safely in the air they finally felt safe enough to speak about what just happened. “So, that was a pretty smooth move you pulled back there.” Sam said, “Guess there wasn’t any point in disarming you in the first place, huh?”  
Daisy couldn’t resist. “Yeah well if I need a gun, ill take one.” The line clearly had the same effect on the boys as it always had on her team when May said it. She again felt the swell of pride and smugness at being as badass as May, but also a pain of homesickness, missing her SO.   
Natasha however, whipped around from her position in the pilot’s seat to stare at Daisy. Apparently, that wasn’t the first time she had heard that line. Meaning she must have known May from back in Shield’s heyday, also meaning that Daisy just lost badass points for being unoriginal. Always a risk when copying someone. Daisy couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy that Natasha had made the connection between her and May.   
“So, the watchdogs, who are they?” Steve asked her.   
Daisy sighed. “They’re a group of domestic extremists turned domestic terrorists. Determined to cleanse the world of anything enhanced, inhuman or alien, by any means necessary. And they’re growing. A few years ago, it was just hate-speech online but now they’ve mobilized, someone is running them and funding them and I’ve been working to find out who and take them down. Now I’m enemy number one. That’s how I got this.” She indicated her shoulder and its throbbing bullet wound, which had apparently begun bleeding again if the wetness she felt was any indication.   
“How’d they find you?” Bucky asked.   
Daisy shrugged (and instantly regretted it). “It might have just been a coincidence. They all know what I look like and they are spread all over the country. Otherwise I have no idea.”  
Steve seemed to be absorbing all of this. “Well, they’re probably not big fans of us now either.” Daisy looked at him and frowned, opening her mouth to apologize. “Nah, its ok.” He said cutting her off with a small smile and a kind look “If they’re as bad as all that I wouldn’t want to be on their good side anyway. And they’re sure not going to like being on my bad side.”  
Daisy could only stare at him. Did Captain America just align himself with her, ready to take down the Watchdogs and declaring them enemies. For the second time she felt awed by this man, and quickly turned away from him before she blushed or did something equally embarrassing. She realized too late that she was already smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the trip passed quickly. They were only a few hours out from the rendezvous point with Stark and had no other issues on the way. Daisy was drained from their little outing and tried to use the time to rest up. Her wound had definitely opened back up and her shoulder was feeling wet but she didn’t mention it out of fear of drawing more attention. She’d already caused enough problems today and she had a feeling they were walking into another on her behalf. At least the rest of her minor injuries had time to heal in the days since she first ran away to the cabin. She hadn’t used her powers in days and her arms weren’t feeling as fragile as they had been. Maybe she inherited some of her mother’s healing ability she thought vaguely. That would be convenient.   
They touched down in a large empty field just outside the perimeter of Stark’s Facility. The meeting was set at one of his smaller locations, though god knows he owned plenty to choose from. At least this one was secluded, no towns or other forms of civilization in the immediate area. Good thing in case this got messy, limit the collateral damage.   
With a few hours until the scheduled meet time the team ate, planned, and otherwise relaxed until it was time to go. Daisy mostly dozed in her super stiff and uncomfortable jump seat. Maybe blood loss was starting to become an issue again. She was thin to begin with but she knew she had lost weight since leaving Shield. Between her withdrawal, depression and not properly taking care of herself she had become positively skinny, and blood loss was a more serious problem now than it might have been before.   
She noticed that the team was all armed as they descended the ramp. They were all dressed in civilian clothes again; jeans, plain tees and assorted jackets. Daisy saw a gun tucked at the waistband of Steve’s jeans under his tan leather jacket and knew the others were similarly outfitted. She had lost the Watchdog’s gun from earlier and since they hadn’t given her another she was the only one going in without a weapon. This heightened her anxiety, she still wasn’t at full strength and able to defend herself if she needed to.   
They had barely exited the quinjet when a very expensive looking sports car sped into their clearing. It pulled to a stop a good distance away from them and the team stopped, respecting the distance. Tony Stark stepped out of the car and paused for a moment, eyeing them.   
They had all stopped advancing and now stood in a line, Steve at its center. Daisy stood next to him, Bucky on her other side with Natasha and Sam to Steve’s left. As planned they all had their hands empty and made no moves that could be considered aggressive or even questionable.   
Any nerves Daisy felt were overwhelmed by excitement at seeing Tony Stark in person. He was well-dressed but not in a formal suit or his Iron Man armor (for which she was grateful). He wore tacky colored sunglasses, but after years as a spy Daisy suspected they served another purpose besides style. The glasses were probably very high tech, perhaps a link to his personal AI system or something equally useful. Fitsimmons had developed something similar for missions. She had idolized Stark for years and dreamt of meeting him, though he never looked as pissed as he did right now.   
He slowly walked forward, Steve stepping out to match him. The rest of them followed a step behind, until they all stopped about ten yards from each other. Tony did indeed look pissed. His eyes were wide as he stared at Bucky and his movements as he whipped the sunglasses off his face were jerky.   
“Really, Rogers? You call, ask for my help, and couldn’t even manage to leave Assassins Creed on the plane? He had to come to? I oughta turn you in just on principle!” He was fuming, his anger apparently directed at Bucky. Daisy glanced at Bucky who seemed very uncomfortable, but still managed to keep his head up and look Stark in the eye. She wondered again what the hell happened between them.   
“We’re not here about what happened in the past, Stark.” Steve said in a calm, respectful tone. “We’re here for another reason. Hopefully we can move past that enough to help someone who needs it. This is Daisy.” She stiffened at the sound of her name and made sure to meet Stark’s gaze too. His eyes didn’t stay focused on hers for long though, quickly raking over her body taking every inch of her in. His focus flew back to Steve as soon as he got a good look at her and he puffed out a breath before stepping closer.   
“Right.” He drew the word out. “The inhuman. The vigilante Quake. Hill said you were a shield agent. I wanna know how that’s possible since you look about 19 years old, and not exactly the superspy type.” He paused and Daisy frowned, not liking being written off so quickly. “Well let’s see it. You’ve got powers, prove it. I wanna see if I’m wasting my time.”   
At this point Daisy was pretty pissed too. She wasn’t the one who asked this asshole for help. She didn’t ask for his opinion. So she did something that was probably pretty reckless in her condition. Rather than the concentrated blast of energy that she usually preferred with her powers, she went for the full show. Expanding her senses to the surrounding areas, Daisy rocked the earth with an enormous surge of power, never breaking eye contact with Stark. The ground shook beneath them, spreading out as far as she could see. A few dead trees in the nearby wood even fell adding a satisfying impact to the show. The whole group stumbled at the force of it for which she was grateful, giving her an excuse to look away and grimace at the pain that showing off had caused her. Though the energy hadn’t come out of her arms they still felt the impact of it and Daisy was sure she felt a few more fractures develop. So much for those days of healing.   
Stark looked appropriately surprised, though she wouldn’t say the look was so much impressed, which she had been going for. She bit her lip and tried to mask her pain as she looked at him, waiting for his response. “If you just collapsed my facility, I’m gonna be pissed.” Was all he said. 

 

He allowed them into his facility after that. From the outside it looked small. Like some upscale hospital or something, complete with multiple entrances and loading docks. Daisy suspected there was a lot more underground. Everything was very clean and high tech, but what worried her were the many people rushing around. Was this place always staffed so fully? Or were they all here because of them? This was too many eyes on her, too many possibilities for leaks. She hesitated before following Stark into the elevator, stopping in the middle of the lobby. She felt Steve brush her back as he did a little skip to the side rather than bump into her.   
“What is it?” he asked her quietly. Sam, Bucky and Natasha all stopped with them as well, forming a little huddle in front of the elevator.  
Feeling self-conscious for drawing attention she shook her head. “Sorry, never mind. Just a lot of people here, right?” She looked up at him but it was Natasha who answered her.   
“There will probably be less where we’re going. Stark facilities have some of the best security on the planet. Word will eventually get out that we’re here with all of these eyes though.” She directed this last to Steve, who nodded. Daisy couldn’t help but feel better that Natasha understood what she was worried about and saw it too. She wasn’t the only paranoid one in the group.   
Tony looked frustrated at the hold up when they all joined him in the elevator. He punched in a code and they descended. When the doors opened it was to a much quieter room, automated sensor lights flicking on as they entered. The space was much bigger than Daisy expected it to be, with glass doors and windows along the walls that branched off into even more rooms. She didn’t pay the main room much attention, taking in the monitors, machines and other equipment as familiar sights and not immediately threatening. It was the 3 people in lab coats exiting one of the side rooms and coming their way that caught her eye.   
Tony introduced the Asian doctor that looked to be in his thirties as Dr. Chen, a member of Dr. Cho’s original team, whoever that was. He smiled at Daisy though and introduced the other doctors standing with him whose names Daisy immediately forgot.   
Tony clapped his hands as he began walking backwards into the room “Let’s get started, shall we?” He seemed to be purposely ignoring Steve and the others. Not wanted to go off alone yet Daisy glanced at Steve, who met her eyes. He nodded once at her before glancing to Natasha and nodding his head after Tony in the universal “let’s go” motion. Sam and Bucky made themselves comfortable on leather chairs Daisy hadn’t noticed against the wall just inside the elevator. There was a complementary snack table and Keurig nearby that Daisy was sure they would take advantage of as well.   
They were led to an adjustable leather exam table situated under bright hospital lights, surrounded by very high tech machines and monitors, all of which had already been turned on and stood ready and waiting for them. Dr. Chen politely asked Daisy to get on the table in slightly accented English with a friendly smile. Daisy didn’t get the creepy scientist vibe from these guys, but she held off on fully trusting them yet. She couldn’t help but wish it was Simmons treating her.   
Carefully sitting on the edge of the table, she grit her teeth as she reached to take her jacket off. The flash of pain was so intense that she hesitated before one of the doctors carefully helped her. Someone gasped when the jacket was fully removed and Daisy caught sight of herself in the reflection from one of the windows along the wall. Her wound had definitely opened up again judging by the huge copper stain on the shoulder of her gray t-shirt. The bruises snaking down both arms looked black, and she was sitting hunched into herself, obviously in pain. She tried to straighten up for dignities sake but grimaced and slouched again.   
The doctors were speaking very quickly in what Daisy recognized as Chinese. May sometimes spoke it when she wanted to be rude to someone’s face without anyone being able to call her out for what she said.   
The doctors quickly cut away the gray t-shirt, apparently not wanting her to repeat the motion of lifting her arms after discovering the severity of her injuries. They allowed her to keep the black tank top on much to her relief since including the doctors Tony, Steve and Natasha were all still in the room. They were standing off to the side, quietly talking but all still facing her watching while the doctors assessed the injuries. Steve was standing in the middle with his arms crossed frowning at her while Natasha stood at ease beside him, looking mildly interested in what was happening. Tony was fiddling with some kind of tablet in his hands, his focus dancing back and forth between Daisy and whatever he was reading.   
Dr. Chen drew Daisy’s attention again. “This will pinch a bit but will numb the area and relieve your pain.” He said, holding up a syringe. “We know you are Inhuman, is there anything we should know before we treat you? We can begin our own scans now as well.” He sounded professionally curious but that was all, and Daisy didn’t feel the need to try to hide anything from him if there were. She shook her head, unable to think of anything and just wanting the anesthetic he had promised. He nodded and spoke to his colleagues again before moving to it. The female doctor moved forward to draw a sample of blood while the other male doctor began to unwrap her bandaged arms. They were very efficient and professional and Daisy quickly relaxed in their care.   
She cleared her throat before interrupting their work, wanting to stop them before they got too far into it. “Steve mentioned a machine that can rapidly heal tissue, do you have that here?” She asked Dr. Chen, who glanced at his colleagues before answering her.   
“We could have it brought here, but this wound is already days old. We would need to remove the newly repaired tissue in order to do that, though the end result would be much better. Would you like us to do that?” He seemed like a very kind man.   
Daisy considered what this could mean, already knowing what she wanted to do. “How long would it take to get here?” She asked him.  
Tony was the one who answered her. “We could send for it right away. Fastest jet I have.” Daisy’s heart clenched with relief. She was worried it would take days and she would already need to be on the move before she could be healed. “But I want you to answer my questions. No spy stuff, no hiding. You can stay here, under my protection with my resources, but I gotta know it all. Deal?”   
She stared at him before looking to Steve. She was afraid to flat out ask him to stay with her, so instead she asked. “What are your plans for the next few days?”  
He shrugged at her, playing casual back. “Nothing special. We can stick around if there’s enough room.” He looked to Tony as he said this, to which Tony nodded.   
Daisy looked back at Tony “Deal.” She relaxed back on the table after she said this making it clear his questions would have to wait. She needed to be coddled a little bit first, and she needed time to decide how much she really was willing to share.


	9. Chapter 9

Whatever the doctors gave her felt blissful. It was dripping in through an IV now, hung from a hook next to other mystery medicine bags. One looked like blood, Daisy vaguely recalled them saying she had needed a transfusion because she had lost too much. The others could be anything. The thought that she should have asked was only just forming as she stared hazily up at the bags. Eh, too late now. She dismissed lazily and looked away, her head rolling a bit more than it normally would. She swung it back and forth a few more times just for fun, grinning.   
On her next pass she realized there was someone standing in the doorway. She stopped rolling her head and blinked at him for a second, waiting for her brain to catch up and tell her who it was. “Hey.” She said, and grinned again.   
“Hey yourself.” Steve said, stepping closer to her bed and standing next to it. “You feeling, um… better?” He smiled, clearly having seen her little trick.   
“If by better you mean tanked, yes” She grinned and gestured vaguely to the IV hook. “They put something good in there.” Her eyes stayed on the hanging bags, a thought reoccurring. “Plus everything else…”   
Steve only glanced away from her for a moment to look at the bags. “You were in bad shape. The doctors had to- ” He broke off, changing his mind and instead saying “The machine is only two hours out. They’ll set it up and have you patched up in no time.”  
“The doctors had to what?” Daisy asked him, still sharp enough to notice the slip. She didn’t remember the doctors having to do anything bad enough not to mention. Then again she didn’t remember being moved to this bed or much else before that… had she been unconscious at one point?   
These thoughts came slowly, and with much less anxiety than she knew they should. Steve hesitated again. “I’d better let them explain everything to you. I didn’t understand enough of what they said to explain it back. But I do know that you’re doing much better. And you’re going to be fine.” He smiled at her as he said this last bit.  
Daisy snorted. “I know. I’ve had way worse than this.”   
Steve frowned, looking sad. “Yeah, they noticed that too.” He was studying her in a way she was way too out of it to try to understand right then. For a soldier he seemed pretty worked up about a few war wounds. Her eyes began to drift close again. “You get some sleep, they’ll wake you up for the procedure and then maybe we can get you on your feet again.”  
“and out of here…” Daisy mumbled as she fell asleep.

It turns out they didn’t feel the need to wake her up for her procedure. In fact she slept almost all the way through it. She woke up on her belly on a hard table with the sounds of a machine whirring above her. The Asian doctors greeted her when they noticed her eyes open, explaining that she was almost done, and that they lowered the dose of her pain medication, which is probably why she woke up. In cheery voices they told her that she wouldn’t need it anymore and to just take ibuprofen for the pain in her arms until she felt she could go without. Daisy listened to them go on and on about treatment, about what she could and couldn’t do, and eventually ignored them in favor of putting her head down to wait until she could get up. There was a mild ache in her shoulder, but she was guessing that was from the lack of painkillers, not the wound itself. That felt unbelievably better. Where the hell had this machine been the last few times she got shot?  
When it was all over, the doctors held up a mirror for her to see what remained of her wound. They told her that it was actually knitted over with her own cells. She could see the difference in skin tone but it didn’t look like scarring, just pink new skin. They told her this would eventually fade to match the gold color that was her usual skin tone. Daisy was surprised at how relieved she was to hear that, she was already covered with enough scars. Beaches and bikinis were out of the question for her, not to mention ever going undercover again. At least she wouldn’t have to try any honeypot missions…  
She quickly cut this line of thought off, reminding herself that she was done being a secret agent and those kinds of things didn’t matter anymore. All she would have to worry about now was scaring away any potential future boyfriends who would see her naked. Again, she mentally cringed and tried to divert that train of thought. After what hive did to her, boyfriends were out of the question for a long time. She couldn’t imagine being intimate with anyone after that.   
Unless it was with someone kind enough not to ask questions about her scars. An attractive, sweet super soldier with scars of his own… Almost as if on cue Steve walked in with Sam and Bucky. Daisy tried not to blush as she thought ‘calm the hell down, it’s not like he can read minds. You’re fine.’ The thought that followed it actually made her smile ‘Damn, I really must be feeling better.’ It had been a long time since she felt this good.   
“Look at you!” Sam crowed as they made their way to stand in front of her. “On your feet and smiling. How are you doing?”  
“It’s crazy.” she said, pulling the neckline of her shirt down, baring her shoulder and turning to expose the new pink tissue to them. “It’s almost like it never happened. They said it will hardly even scar.” She bent her arms again realizing something else as she moved. “Even my arms feel better, weirdly enough.”  
“Damn.” He said, reaching out a curious hand as though to touch her shoulder. Daisy flinched away instinctively, her smile fading as she tugged her shirt back up into place. Sam yanked his hand back, taking a step away and out of her personal space.   
“We were just about to get something to eat.” Steve said hurriedly, as though to cover the awkward moment. “If you’re feeling up for it?”  
“Sure.” Daisy quickly agreed, giving him a tight smile before meeting Sam’s eyes. She smiled at him too, giving him a little nod to convey that they were all good. He gave her a small but warm smile back, though she noticed that he was careful not to crowd her as they left the little room.   
They came back out to the comfortable lobby situated just outside the elevators. A table had been set up against one wall with what looked like a small buffet of catered dishes you’d expect to see at a party. Certainly more food than could feed the few of them. They helped themselves and sat down to eat on the couches, making small talk. It wasn’t long before the elevator pinged and they all turned to see Natasha step out with Tony Stark.   
“Just the felons I wanted to see.” Stark said dramatically, eying them all on the couches. “Now that you’re no longer dying, maybe you can fill me in on a few things.” He said, coming to stand behind the couch where Daisy sat on one end with Steve on the other. “Like how you guys nearly killed 5 men and turned a public shopping center into a warzone not two hours before meeting with me and no one bothered to mention that.” He tapped the tablet he held, pulling up a news article before turning it to show them. The headline read ‘5 Critically injured in Avengers shootout at local mall’. A picture dominated the screen of Daisy and Steve as they were exiting the store. One of Steve’s arms was wrapped around her, tucking her into his side as he supported her while they made their escape. Both of their faces were turned to the camera, giving it a perfect shot of exactly who they were. Daisy noted that she looked tiny next to Steve. Her bruised face and the fact that she was clearly injured making her seem fragile and broken. ‘ugh I look like shit.’ She thought in disgust.   
Tony swiped the screen to reveal another article. This picture showed all 5 of them, including Natasha, Bucky, and Sam. The headline read ‘Is Captain America bringing his war to our doors?’ He swiped again, this time revealing another picture of Daisy and Steve but the headline read ‘Are Captain America and Quake dating?!’ Steve still had his arm around her in this picture, but she had turned her face into his chest in an effort to hide it from the cameras. But as was her shitty luck, this photo was taken from the opposite side of the crowd from the first and still revealed enough of her face to make her identifiable. It just painted a much more intimate picture of them, especially with Steve’s other arm hovering protectively in the air in front of her as he pushed his way through the crowd.   
Tony went to swipe again before Daisy yanked the tablet out of his hands to swipe through the articles on her own, needing to see for herself. While many talked about the shooting and injured men left behind, many more seemed focused on the possible super hero romance. “People are really shipping you guys.” Natasha said teasingly as she read the articles over Daisy’s shoulder.   
“Shipping? What is that?” Steve said blankly   
“Is it some kind of threat?” Bucky asked from the other couch, just as clueless.  
Daisy couldn’t help but snort at this, despite the situation. And the situation was not good. All this time she had managed never to get caught on camera. She covered every possible trail she could have left for shield to follow. Now not only was she all over the media, she was shown injured and in league with people Coulson would know how to track down. Shit.


End file.
